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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pinwheel Table Runner with Candy Cane Binding (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Don't miss the giveaway at the end of the post!

I love making holiday-related projects to give to family and friends. We often give family their presents at Thanksgiving anyway since we don't always see them at Christmas. This way they have the whole month to use it.

This table runner can be definitely be made in any colors/fabrics for everyday or any holiday. My favorite part is actually the binding. I came up with the binding idea one night when I couldn't fall asleep. I loved the idea of the candy cane binding and actually designed the table runner around the binding. It's simple and a great beginner project. I left a lot of white space in the design leaving the option open for hand stitching and embroidery if that is your thing.

You'll need:

For the pinwheels:

(22) white squares 3.5"

(10) pairs of red pattern squares 3.5"

(1) pair of green squares 3.5"

(10) 5 1/2" white squares

For the white and red borders:

(2) white strips 1.5" x 35.5"

(2) white strips 1.5" x 17.5"

(2) red pattern strips 2.5" x 37.5"

(2) red pattern strips 2.5" x 21.5"

For the binding:

(6) 1.5" white strips WOF (Width of Fabric)

(6) 1.5" red strips WOF (the picture shows these as a solid red, although right before sewing it, I changed to various pattern strips)

Step 1: Make the pinwheel units.

Pair each 3.5" pattern square with a white square.

Mark a faint line between the diagonal corners and stitch a seam 1/4" from either side of the line.

Slice the fabric down the line.

Press seams (I prefer to press open).

Trim each unit to a 3" square.

Pair the matching sets of half square triangle units and piece into a pinwheel. Make sure all pinwheels are oriented the same direction.

Sew the pinwheels with the 5.5" white squares in the arrangement shown.

Cut all pieced strips to your desired widths. A standard binding is 2.5". I chose to cut mine slightly wider at 2.75".

Stitch strips end to and and press binding in half.

Step 4: Baste the table runner and quilt as desired.

I chose to quilt my lines at a 60 degree angle from each direction. I marked the initial line using masking tape. I then spaced my quilting using wide painters tape to mark my lines.

Step 5: Bind

I added the binding using a about a 3/8" seam allowance to give a wider binding. Stitch onto table runner using a walking foot.

When you get to the end, it's unlikely the colored stripes will match perfectly. Mine ended almost exactly at a seam. I could choose to match two red sections or two white sections. I choose to match up two red sections to finish. Cut ends of the binding strips at a 45 degree angle and stitch closed. Finish stitching binding to the front of the table runner and attach by hand or machine to the back.

Done!

Don't forget to check out all the other great tutorials going on this week!

Win a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop. I'll announce the winner, picked by Mr. Random, on October 26th.

Leave a comment telling us your favorite thing to give as a homemade gift. We can always use more great gift ideas. Please make sure I have a way to contact you.

Don't forget Jennifer's giveaway as well. Head on on over to Ellison Lane Quilts to enter to win a $250 gift certificate to Fabricworm! And just for stopping by, you can take advantage of a generous 15% off discount at Fabricworm with the coupon code fw12days through the end of the blog hop.

I love your runner. It is amazing. I have just the place for this. My favorite thing to give is handmade ornaments. It will last them forever and every year they can think about the year they got "this" ornament. Thanks for sharing.

my favourite thing to give as a homemade gift... baby quilts! they are fast and fun to sew, and it's a great way to try a new block or pattern without comiting to a whole big quilt ;) gooberific @yahoo.com

I have always given a variety of Christmas baked goods as a Christmas gift. Our family recipes. I only started quilting last year, so I am still pretty new at all of this, and my skills aren't quite up to making everyone quilts in a year. Maybe something homemade and sewn next year :)

Thank you for the tutorial.....the table runner will make a 'few' awesome Christmas gifts. Luv luv luv pinwheels and your binding is perfect. My favorite gift to give is a lap size quilt. With 3 weddings this year I have been busy. I also like to give a 'quilt kit' to my quilting friends and family. My goal for Christmas this year is 'handmade'.

I have always loved the look of pinwheels and your tablerunner is just wonderful. My favorite thing to give are small wallhangings, tabletoppers and purses. Depends on who they are going to. Loving the blog hop too.

I love your tablerunner. The binding is so perfect!! And my favorite thing gift to make is actually a tablerunner. I have a pattern that I love and makes up beautifully. Thanks for the tutorial and the giveaway.

Thank you for the tutorial; my LR and DR are red & white so it's perfect. Usually I combine a sewing gift with food. When I was working, the best gifts were baked gifts, casseroles, etc. as it gave me the best recipes and time.

A good gift for someone setting up a household is holiday decorations. I did this for my sisters when they got married. I started a long time in advance, and bought holiday decorations through the year. Often I could buy them just after a holiday passed so they would be on sale. When my sisters' bridal showers rolled around I had a collection of decorations for the whole year's holidays. I wasn't as crafty back then, but if I did it now, I would also make some tablerunners and other decorations for the collection.

Besides quilts, I love making tablerunners & table toppers so they are my go to gift. They are so versatile - lots of patterns and color & fabric combinations. Yours is already in my favorites - thanks!

This is such a great tutorial- can't wait to make one! I like to give homemade cookies since they're easy to whip up when you're short on time. This year I'm going to try to make more sewn handmade gifts though!

Love the binding idea! I'm the official cookie baker for the family so I'm always looking for a special way to package the treats, something that the recipient can use long after the goodies are gone. The fabric boxes from Pink Penguin's tutorial will probably be my container this season. I also make a lot of pillowcases and use these to wrap gifts for the children.

Pinwheels are my absolute favorite and with that candy cane border they are quite festive for Christmas. Thanks for the great tut! I always try to make something different each year. I've done coasters, potholders, table mats, mug rugs.....I think this year it will be vinyl zippered pouches.

What a cute little project! I love it!. The candy cane binding really sets it off. I love giving quilts, of course, and table runners as gifts. We usually give the teens & young adults on the list movie theater gift cards. The teens look forward to it each year.

My favorite thing to give as gifts are scrapbook pages. I make pages through the year for family events, etc. for each person and then give them (without the binder because I gave them that some time ago!)

We all enjoy looking at the pictures and I get the fun of reliving each event as I scrapbook them!

Cute runner! I like to give things that I *know* will be used...zip pouches to tame the handbag chaos, potholders and whatnot...too many times I've put in so much work on something only to discover that the recipient is a little overwhelmed by the gift and doesn't want to use it..so it stays in the closet and gets dusty. (Thanks for the opportunity to enter such a great giveaway!)

Right now, I'm loving giving mug rugs. I give my 3 yo some white fabric and THE BEST fabric markers around, Crayola Fabric Markers, and let her color to her heart's content. Then I heat-set the coloring, and put it together as a mug rug. Her teachers really loved them the first day of school, and I know the family will love them at Christmas.

Favorite handmade gift? Tough. I think this year it will be mug rugs. I made a couple for Swap Bot a couple weeks ago and I love them! So for all the aunts and uncles and Cousin Suzie we are going to buy mugs at the local Potter's Guild show and I am going to make mug rugs that match.

As soon as I saw the pinwheels written in your post, I knew it would be something I want to make. ANd I always love a striped border. I just love the table runner. SO cute. My favorite thing to make for others are wall hangings. My kids want one for each season so I am always making them something. I also like to make zippered bags and coasters. I haven't made any for a while so I guess I better get busy. Thanks for the instructions on the table runner. I want to add it to my pile of things to do.

Quilts are my favourite handmade gift to give away but they are expensive to make so I don't get to do them nearly as often as I would like. My most frequent handmade gifts are knitted scarves. They aren't my favourite but far less costly.

Right now, I am working on making a Remembrance quilt using Papa's clothes. I'll be giving it to Grannie. They were married 57 years and he suddenly passed away on August 27th. My hope is that the quilt will give her something special to remember him by and maybe help her heart heal just a little bit.

I think that ANYTHING homemade is the best kind of gift! This Christmas I'm giving my girlfriends beaded crocheted doilies.. I've finished one and am halfway through the second with 4 more to go. And I'm making my 5 year old son a quilt. I don't think it matters what you make, just the fact that you put the effort into making something makes the gift so much more special! <3

My favourite gift to give...? Hmmm...a couple of years ago, I knit scarves and cowls for friends; last year I appliqued tea towels. Both of those projects were pretty quick and got positive reactions. I'd love to make a quilt for everyone who's special to me, but, hey, I have a job and a life ;)

The table runner is beautiful, thank you. My favorite items to give away as gifts are pillowcases. Having teenagers, this has proven to be the best gift, especially when they are able to pick out their own colors.

Hi I like to make margo purses for my family and friends and little snappy cosemetic purses I like your tablerunner. I also make placemats and table runners for myself and friends I like this idea for the candy cane binding.

What a great table runner! Love it. And the perfect binding.This year I'll be making Christmas potholders for my friends as Christmas present. Simple, quite fast to make and can always be used!Thank you for sharing your tutorial with us!

Last year was my first handmade gift giving - I made two table runners. It was fun, but not an ideal last minute gift if you've never quilted before! Talk about stress! But, with a year under my belt, I'm feeling much more prepared for making things for more people! Thanks for the tutorial, this looks perfect!

Nice tutorial. I like making hand-knit socks but they take quite a bit of planning to get done before Christmas. Last year my dad got one sock on Christmas Day and had to wait for the other a week later.

Cute table runner! I made a red/white string quilt last year that I couldn't part with - this table runner will go perfectly! My favorite gift to give is a small crochet bag that has a ribbon "drawstring". Easy to fill with a couple of yummy chocolates.

That green pinwheel just makes this table runner "sing". I love a striped binding, but I use preprinted stiped fabric cut on the bias. As to homemade gifts, I have given success with a plate of cookies all the way to a queen bed quilt.

Mt favorite gift to give away is not a sewn item, but homemade jam or jelly. But since I am into making pouches, purses and bags lately, lots of people are getting these for Christmas this year. Love the binding on your table runner!

I've never made a pinwheel before. I think now is the time to start! My favorite gift to make is a mug rug - and pair it up with a pretty mug filled with some hot chocolate mix and some homemade marshmallows :)

What a lovely tutorial....can see one or two of these being made for pressies this year, if I don't run out of time that is! It used to be that my favourite gift to make and give people was some kind of bag, but I've branched out a bit, and my 'go to' makes are either a sewing case or a notebook cover that has a pen holder in it. Hugs Naomi

I love the pinwheel table runner. The candy cane binding really pops. Thanks for the great tutorial. I'm going to have to make myself one of these & some for others. Last year I made fabric shopping bags for my family that folded up into the pocket. They loved them. I am finding all kinds of ideas for them this year on this blog hop. Thank you for the great ideas & tutorials!

thanks for the tutorial. in the past handknit hats were one of my favorite gifts to make, but this is the first christmas i've really known how to sew, so i hope to make some different things this year.

Love that binding! I always try to work with stripe fabric for my bindings - never thought of making my own stripes and believe this will now be the way to go. I either knit (hat-wrist warmers, etc.); cross stitch; sew (table runners/covers) or bake something for Christmas. Seems anything homemade thrills the recipients. Thanks for a new idea.

That table runner is adordable! I love the make quilted items (like table runners) to give. I also love to fill canning jars with fabrics, notions etc. and top it with a jar top pincushion :) It makes a great gift for sewing people :)

Thanks very much for the binding tutorial. I like to make brightly colored luggage tags for gifts. And also tote bags, because there is such variety in style and color. Lately I've been making large liberated wonky log cabins blocks and using one block for each side of the tote bag. These totes are very eye catching. Thanks for the giveaway; winning would be a real treat.

Love your table runner. The striped binding is lovely. I added a striped piping to some Christmas stockings I made for grandkids and thought the stripes turned out so well. I actually purchased a red/white striped fabric but your binding system could be utilized in many colors for lots of different looks. Favorite gift is the Christmas stockings I make for my grandkids.

I plan to make 2 quilts this season, for my new nephew & my mom. Other than quilts, I like pillow covers, almost like a quilt, but quicker! Some other good ideas I will have to try are pot holders, mug rugs & maybe even a table runner! Thanks for the tutorial :)

Ok, you get a gold star for actually piecing that binding!! I'd be shopping for a stripe, myself! I love giving small pouches or wristlets with a giftcard, but this year my nieces and nephews are all getting TV/reading pillows!

I LOVE this project! So cute! We make cookies for acquaintances/colleagues and would love to have something cute to package them in. I also have a lot of girlfriends ask for pot holders and/or trivets. New ideas there would be helpful as well. :) Thanks for sharing!

That candy cane binding is such a cute touch! My favorite thing to give as gifts so far are quilts, but they can get expensive and time consuming so I'm always on the lookout for other ideas. I'm looking forward to reading through your comments to find more!

Your table runner is really cute and the binding is fantastic! I have made many gifts. Over the years, I have given knit scarves, handmade pillows, cosmetic bags, small wall quilts, fleece hats and scarves, and cross-stitched ornaments.

Cute, love that splash of green and the candy cane binding! Thanks for the chance to win too :o)

I love to make different things every year, I make it a challenge to myself every year to make something totally different from last year. This year I've made a dress for my mum (and given it to her already), I'm doing a redwork wall hanging for my dad, cushions for my gran, and a bird mobile for my granny :o)

I make tote bags, walker bags, and wheelchair bags for my group, World of Charity Stitching; they are donated to a senior citizen center and a domestic violence shelter.Thanks,Peggyhttp://keepmeinstitches-peggy.blogspot.compeggy_verdongibbs@att.net

My favorite holiday gift seems to change to whatever is the latest trend that year! For quilt-y friends I like to make a finger pincushion from a plastic bottle cap. I've made homemade beer nuts or a soup mix and put them in a cute, decorated class jar. I also like to make hand warmers with corn inside. Thanks for the chance to win your giveaway.

Firstly - I adore that candy cane binding!! Thank you for such a great tutorial! I believe I will be using this technique in the near future.

Secondly - I am only getting started in the homemade gift giving. But thinking back, I think I most like to give away stuffed animal type things to kids. I made a few alien dolls this past year and they have been well received!

About Me

I am the mom to three busy little kiddos and the the wife to a fabulous husband who tolerates and even supports most of my crafty endeavors. I love photography, sewing, and quilting. Many of my creations happen from the blue chair--one that I refurbished. It is among my favorite creations to date.

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